As a character designer, you will be responsible for exploring new ideas through characters. Your role as a designer will be to create major and incidental characters for animated television, feature films, videogames, etc. as well as possibly create characters for your own intellectual properties.

Throughout this course, Stephen will share with you the creative process of drawing that he goes through and his personal techniques for producing successful character designs. You will learn to understand clarity and shape variation, as well as many other important principles and elements of design.

In his lectures, Stephen will provide you with a better understanding of the drawing and design process, and give you tools with which to constantly improve your skills. This 9-lecture course will build your confidence in drawing while inspiring you with new ideas that will help you grow continuously.

Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan

Lesson 1 - What is character design?

Throughout this lesson, we will examine what character design is as well as your responsibilities as a designer in the animation studio. I will discuss my own experiences, how I got started, as well as doing a visual breakdown of my influences, thereby, giving you a better understanding of what I'm thinking about when seeking inspiration. In this class, you will be given your first assignment, which will consist of creating a character based off a description so that I can see what your skill level is, giving me a better understanding of how I will work with you one-on-one.

Lesson 2 - Thinking, Looking, Doing.

"Get the fundamentals down and everything else you do will rise." This week I will be discussing Thinking, Looking and Doing. We will cover more design fundamentals and answer the most common question, "Where do I begin?" We will cover topics such as basic shapes, variation and the importance of strong silhouettes. I will discuss my own personal drawing exercises with you, which will help break those artist's blocks that we all get at times. You will also be given your scripted assignment that you will carry out from start to finish.

Lesson 3 - Construction/Caricature

In this class, we will cover the importance of construction. We will discuss what it means to avoid the ladder and tap into the realm of caricature. We will examine design issues such as contrast in angles and shapes and much more. I will give and demonstrate for you another great drawing exercise that you will be using for years to come. On top of all this, you will also be able to download my own 20 week drawing program. We will have two assignments this week.

Lesson 4 - The features

We will discuss more design principles and start breaking down some individual features, such as hands, eyes, noses, ears, and mouths. We will start fleshing out our characters some more.

Lesson 5 - Clean-up

In this lesson, we will cover scale and proportion. I will also do a lecture on clean-ups. As a designer, you may not often be called upon to perform this task, but you might have to do it from time to time. This will not be an illustrator lecture, but a clean-up-by-hand procedure. I will also be demonstrating another creative side assignment for you to have fun with during the week as well as continuing on with your main assignment.

Lesson 6 - Turnarounds

Today we will cover the important topic of turnarounds, a must if you want to work as a character designer in the industry.

Lesson 7 - Expressions and Attitudes

This week we will be covering expressions and attitudes. We will cover rythm, balance and flow. I will also do a brief color demo on my characters. You will be given another creative exercise to do during the week in addition to your main assignment.

Lesson 8 - Memory sketching and how to approach keeping and drawing in a sketchbook daily.

Today, we will be discussing the importance of drawing in your sketchbook, what you should be observing and why this will help you grow. We will also talk about the importance of memory sketching and what to look for.

Lesson 9 - The business of art and putting together a successful portfolio.

We will discuss the business side of art, being a professional, meeting deadlines, ending procrastination and ways to simplify your life. This means getting organized and staying on track. I will also cover putting together your portfolio to get yourself started.

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Scheduled Course Dates:

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Mar 16, 2015

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Get the Self-Taught Course: Fundamentals of Character Design with Stephen Silver

Learn at your own pace. With self-taught, you will NOT receive video feedback and critiques as Stephen Silver draws on top of your work, but you can access the videos for 100 days! For video feedback purchase the full course.